Return to Land
by FashionDiva7
Summary: The Thirteenth Year fic. Slight H2O crossover. Cody Griffin returns home, but not after a stop in Australia. CodyxSam & onesided EmmaxCody. Oneshot.


**I was recently browsing through the Thirteenth Year fics on this site. Yeah, that's right, all 4 of them. I was really disappointed when I read them. Two were basically a copy of the story with a new charactor and two were to...bleh. The pairings were just wrong, and I think you know what I mean by _wrong._**

**_Pairings in this fic: _Sam/Cody a little one-sided Emma/Cody**

Challenge: I challenge anyone who reads this to write a thirteenth year fic!

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**Return To Land**

Cody Griffin's bizarre summer was almost over. After turning into a fishboy, he had traveled around the world. Now, he and his mother were in _Australia_ of all places!

His mother, Julia, had insisted on one last stop before the return home. He didn't really mind, but it had been a very long swim.

Cody was having second thoughts on going home. I mean sure, he missed his parents. Yeah, he missed his friend Jess. And of course, he missed his girlfriend, Sam. Just the thought of her brought a smile to his face.

But how would it work out? Would he be treated the same? I mean, he had a _tail. _He didn't want to be stared at, regarded with wariness. Most of all, he didn't want to spend the year in the bathtub. Or a pool, if his parents bought one. Or, God forbid, a tank...

"Cody?" Julia asked. Surprisingly, after about a week, his mother had began to talk. He had been so startled, he's choked on seawater.

He looked over. "Yeah, Mom." Julia was straightening her shell-headband. Oh no. This was a nervous habit of his mother's.

"There's something...that I never told you." She started.

He blinked. "What?"

"This is where I grew up." She pointed toward the land on the horizon.

That was it? He was a little confused, he thought that this would have been something more, well, important.

"Follow me, there's more." She instructed, diving under the water.

Cody obeyed, submerging himself in the warm tropic waters.

Julia led him toward a little Island off the coast. She beckoned for him to follow her toward an opening in the rock.

Within moments they were in a small, round pool. It was a cave of some sort, with an open top. _A dormant volcano. _He recalled from his science classes.

"Watch." His mother said, pulling herself out of the water. In her eyes, there was a trace of worry.

"Mom, what are you doing!?" Cody was shocked, too long out of the water was painfull. Why would she willingly do this?

She repeated. "Just watch." She raised one hand over he fin and concentrated. Instantly, a short stream of electricty was sent through it, drying it.

Julia muttered. "Hope this still works." Then she was enveloped in a bluish light.

When it faded, she was lying in the sand, legs stretched out behind her. Wait a second, _legs?_ His mother was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a grey T-shirt. Her hair was straighter, and she wore a regular grey headband.

His mouth dropped open, and for a second he forgot to tread water. He lost his balance and flipped under the water. Cody surfaced again quickly. "MOM?"

She smiled. "Yeah."

"Does this mean-."

She cut him off. "No, Cody, it doesnt. You cannot change back, because you were born a merman."

"But, Mom-."

Once again interupted. "I was born completely human. This pool," She gestured around the cave. "Is why I became what I am. My best friends and I came across it in our late teens. We dove in, right when the full moon was directly over the volcano's peak. The water started to bubble, and the water felt like liquid ice.

"The next day, I went out for a swim. Ten seconds after I touched the water, I had a tail. The same had happened to my friends. We had a lot of amazing adventures. The secret was an escape for us, a bit of magic to get us through the drama of high school." She smiled at the memories.

"One day, when I was twenty-six, I had a fight with my parents. They thought I was shirking my responsabilities, and they would accept that. I left. And as I promised with the slam of the front door, I didn't come back. I swam miles out to sea, where I came across a group of true merpeople. They accepted me in as their own and I lived there for years."

She laughed. "I met your father there, he was facinated the change I possessed. We spent hours talking about life on land and life on sea. We were married about a year you were born. Unfortunately he was poisoned a month later..." Julia took a shaky breath. "Then you know the rest. You were born and ended up on that ship. And so on..."

Cody spoke up. "So why come back now?"

"You."

"Me?" Now he was confused.

"Dont you get it? If the full moon could make me half mermaid, then it could make you half human!" She exclaimed. "You could return to your home, hang out with your friends, date that Sam girl. As long as you didn't touch water, you could go back to your life."

"But why would you want that? I mean, it sounds amazing to me, but what about you?" Cody inquired.

She laughed. "I would expect you to visit me everyday; I could make a home near the beach. I dont expect you to give up you life for me."

It was a plan. That night, under the full moon, Cody had to be in the moon pool.

**o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o**

The water around Cody started to bubble, the overhead moon casting shadows in the cave. He could have sworn he saw drops of water lift up and into the air.

Then, as quickly as it had started, it was over. The cavern was dark, and the water still. Cody felt exactly the same... What if it hadn't worked?

Oh well, he would find out the following morning. It was late, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the edge of the moonpool. It wasnt long before he was drifting off into sleep.

**o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o**

Cody awoke to the sound of girls voices. He tensed, he had to get away. He snapped his eyes open to see three teenagers sitting in the sand at the base of the pool. There were two blondes, and a brunette. The brunette had her back to him, but the others were watching.

"He's awake." One observed.

Cody froze, fear creeping over him. Should he escape now, or were there people waiting on the other side too?

"Hello." A blonde with pigtail braids said. "I'm Rikki."

"Cleo." The brunette waved.

"Emma." The remaining girl finished. "And you are?"

Why weren't they screaming, or taking pictures, or even staring at his tail? "Name's Cody." He said warily.

He gripped the edges of the pool, pulling himself over the edge. God, it burned his fin. He sat there, watching them, but not getting within a few feet.

Cleo spoke. "Do you want Rikki to dry you off?"

"Huh?"

Rikki strode over to him, and plopped down into the sand. "Trust me, it beats drying out in the sun for an hour." She held out a hand and slowly pulled it into a fist.

Steam rose, and soon he was staring at his legs. Surprisingly, his kaki capris were there too. Wow, he hadn't thought it was possible. The pool must really work.

"Alright," Cody said, "I'll give. How did you do that?"

"We're mermaids, we have powers." Emma said. "Dont you, or is that not possible for mermen."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Alright, first of all, never call me a merman again. OK? It's just too weird. Second, I can do this." He pulled his palms together, and electricity crackled between them.

"Wow." Was all the other girls could say.

"What?"

"Nothing." Rikki replied. "So I dont think we've seen you around before; are you new here?"

Cody cracked up. "You could say that. Let's just say I'm from the U.S., and this is the last stop on my summer vacation."

"You swam across continents? That would take days!" Emma was not sure she believed this teen. Although, she did notice that he was well muscled. Emma blushed.

"It did." He sighed. "We only came here for this pool. So that I could walk around in the human world again, return home."

"We?"

"My mom and I. She grew up here, that's how she knew about the pool. In fact, it's how she got her powers all those years ago." He added an after thought. "Well, her and her friends."

Cleo looked at the others. "What is you mom's name?"

"Why?"

Emma explained. "We know a Miss Chatem, and she and her two friends became mermaids here thirty years ago."

"Julia."

There started a very long conversation (Which this author will not bore you with).

**o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o**

It was the day before school started, and Sam was down by the docks. She sat at the end of the pier, legs hanging over the side.

"Waiting for someone?" A voice called from behind her.

She spun around with a grin. Jess, in all his nerdy glory, was striding down the pier.

"Yeah, a friend of mine. You?" She swung her legs, her feet grazing the water.

He laughed. "Same." He took a seat beside her.

Sam looked down at her hands. "You dont think he's changed too much, do you?"

Jess pushed up his glasses. "I highly doubt it."

The redhead watched the waves. "I hope you're right, Jess, I really do. I've missed Cody so much these past months, it's amazing."

"Me too," Jess agreed. "But wait till he tells us about his adventures! Can you imagine, two and a half month's underwater? It's a scientific unbelievability!"

Sam laughed.

The water on the horizon suddenly had a silver tint.

"He's here." She whispered.

Closer, she saw a tail flip out of the water.

Jess muttered. "Showoff." But it was in a joking way.

Suddenly, a scaley hand shot out of the water and grabbed Sam's foot.

She yelped, then after a second calmed herself. She grabbed his hand.

He pushed his head out of the water, grinning. "Gotcha."

"Hey, stranger." Sam greeted.

"Hi, Cody." Jess jumped into the conversation.

"Hey guys." He looked excited. "Can you help me out?"

Jess was unsure. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's four in the morning, I doubt anyone's watching us." Cody shrugged.

"Fine."

The two teens yanked their friend out of the water.

"Anyone got a towel?" Cody half joked.

Jess opened his bag and handed it to his best friend.

Soon he was dry. "Watch this." He instructed.

The blue light came, and soon Cody was stretching his legs. He tried to get up, but with the new weight he stumbled.

"How?" Jess asked.

"Long story short, Australia is a magical place. I'm just so glad to be home." He summed up.

"Me too." His girlfriend said, leaning in for a kiss.

Cody complied, and after about a minute of kissing Jess interupted.

"Yo, fishboy, Sam. I'm right here!" The two broke apart, laughing at their friend.

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**Please Review!**


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